Thursday, June 30, 2016

Happy Independence Day! Whatever you do this holiday, keep feeling blessed by all the people who are part of our country.

I discovered a picture book at the library this week that is new to me. Perhaps you know it, and it is just right for this holiday, a celebration of all those through history to today who are part of America's wealth in people. It's written by Karma Wilson and illustrated with fabulous art by Raúl Colón. This recipe for America is written in rhyme, the story is told by a dog and a cat, gathering ingredients, stirring and mixing to produce a special American Pie!

Here are pictures I've selected of some of the pages, including a few poems:

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Thanks to Alyson Beecher's Non-Fiction Picture Book Challenge at Kidlit Frenzy, everyone shares wonderful non-fiction picture books. We learn much from authors who are sharing about special topics. Three good non-fiction books about innovation and caring about doing something well. If you know them, you'll understand what I mean. Each one is an inspiration.

Using collage of people and things,
against a background what seems to be trash, Sally Wern Comport tells the story
in picture, while Susan Hood share the words of this inspiring story of how Favio Chávez helped begin the recycled orchestra of
Paraguay. He came to the town of Cateura to help families learn how to dig
through the trash safely, but soon became concerned for the children. Although
they weren’t supposed to be working in the dump, their abilities to search and
carry were needed too. Favio Chávez offered to teach music to those who wanted
to learn, but soon realized there weren’t enough instruments. Thus began this
amazing journey of invention, instruments from trash! The story focuses on Ada,
whose persistence and hard work has made her an accomplished violinist. Now
this group has grown from a class outdoors of ten kids to over 200 students.
They have traveled the world in concerts, and one of the first ones was hosted
by the rock band Metallica. And they, along with Favio Chávez, give hope to the
poor in this town. There is an author’s note, and additional information at the
back. What an inspiring story.

Monday, June 27, 2016

I'm slicing with the Two Writing Teachers community today. It's always a pleasure to read what everyone writes about their lives.

“We do what we do, because of who we are. If we did otherwise, we would not be ourselves.” Neil Gaiman

Because I'm a teacher and a writer, I observe and wonder about many things. Today as I worked in my garden, my thoughts turned to an old story, then to my own actions.

One of the stories that has been passed around concerns a "reason why something is done", rather like a tradition, but smaller. A family member asked a mom in the family why she always took the bone out of the Sunday roast? She answered, because my mother did. They found her mother and asked the same question. She didn't know either, just did it after watching her own mother prepare the roast. Luckily 'her' mother still lived, so was asked that question. She looked up and said: "I didn't have a pan big enough for a big roast so had to remove the bone so it would fit."

I thought of this story today and began to think about certain things I do, "just because", or perhaps they come from years of growing up with watching others live their lives. Some I understand; some are mysteries.

Except for the final, and fun, picture book, each of these first four show the love of family.

I don’t think I’ll ever go to our zoo and observe the orangutans the same way again. Once again Eliot
Schrefer has written a story that brings poignancy to the causes of primates
world wide. He began with Bonobos in Endangered, following with the book
Endangered about chimpanzees. This third book in the trilogy moves to
Indonesia, and the loss of habitat of orangutans.

Smuggled into the U.S. for his son John, young
Raja soon becomes close as a brother. And sadly, he also becomes imprisoned.
John’s parents have divorced, John and his mother have moved far away, needing
to leave Raja behind under the care of his father. In two years, the father has
lost his lucrative job with a company that has been destroying jungle habitat
in Indonesia (the habitat of orangutans) in order to plant palm trees to produce palm oil. He has lost his home. A place must
be found for Raja, and the only place that agrees to take him is a roadside zoo.

John travels to say goodbye, but when he discovers the horrible conditions of
that zoo, he kidnaps Raja. This book, like the others, keeps tension high, and
from this time on, it becomes higher. How John with the help of a caring vet
works out Raja’s plight is a story that seems a bit unbelievable. Everything
works out, although including more than one harrowing moment. The overreaching theme is consideration of
wild animals’ needs, and the fact that people rarely care about them when it
includes profit. The book is divided into five parts, each with an appropriate
quote about animal lives, and a brief introduction before the story begins
again. The introduction follows an orangutan baby’s thoughts and parallels their
plight even as we read the fictional story of John and Raja. It’s a thoughtful
book, one that will connect with kids perhaps even more than the others because
it’s set in the U.S.

It’s time for Carnival and
Malaika’s mother had promised to send money for a costume. She recently has
moved far away to Canada to make more money. Sadly, the money hasn’t come.
Malaika is upset and her grandmother pulls out her own old costume. Malaika becomes
even more upset, throws it off and runs out into the village. She settles down,
and asks a tailor lady who gives her a scrap bag of wonderfully colorful and
shiny cloth. The creativity begins, with Malaika and her Grandmother making a
costume to love. Nadia Hohn offers a small
glossary at the beginning of the book with words included like “Moko Jumbie, a
stilt walker of West African origin whose height was traditionally associated
with the ability to see evil.” Whether
reading as a book about family and community, or for a celebration of Carnival,
you’ll love the colorful collage illustrations and the beautiful facial
expressions, especially Malaika’s.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Celebrating with Ruth Ayres at Discover Play Build. and connecting with others who share their celebrations, too. It's a joy to read everyone's words of celebration. There are those "things" that count, and they are sometimes thought of as 'big' and 'little', yet they make my life the joy that it is, so I won't judge, just share. Here are a few pictures and explanations of some of the nice things this week: I started the week having brunch with my son-in-law and my daughter and the grand-girls for Father's Day. What a grand father he is! And I celebrated my two fathers. My first father was a pilot in World War II, and was lost in a battle near the Philippines. I was two, don't remember him, but loved his parents, my paternal grandparents, dearly, so I imagine he was a wonderful man. The second father became my father when I was about six, and also fought in World War II, was stationed all over the world in the Army Corps of Engineers. He was a wonderful father to me, and grandfather to my children.

Today is my daughter-in-law Barb's birthday, and I am a lucky mother-in-law to have such a wonderful daughter-in-law. Barb and Nathan just celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary. Wow, time sure flies. I'm celebrating them, and that they and their son, Carter, are coming to visit for this coming weekend's holiday!

Monday, June 20, 2016

I'm slicing with the Two Writing Teachers community today. It's always a pleasure to read what everyone writes about their lives.

Happy Summer! When walking around my neighborhood, I see great porches, and comfy furniture on them, but not one porch swing. It makes me wonder why not? And it also takes me back to memories of my childhood and those swings. My husband and I had a swing at our home, and I miss sitting there, remember good times with him, with neighbors and especially my oldest grandson, Carter.

One of my grandmothers had two. One
was on the front small porch that was rarely used; visitors always came into
the house by the side door, through the mudroom, into the kitchen. But as
that porch’s swing backed into a clematis vine on a trellis, purple skirts
blooming up and down, I could read there on summer afternoons with privacy. It was cool there, and I dragged
pillows out so I could sit sideways with my legs propped up, ready to give the swing
a small push now and then. Her other swing was glorious swinging for
kids. It was hung from a high limb on a large oak by the side of the
house, and my cousins and I managed huge arcs of swinging two on at a time,
then jumping out onto soft grass. It was a competition to see how far we
could go before we landed. Other times, I sat there more sedately with my
grandmother as we drank sweet tea late afternoons before time to start supper.

Applesauce Weather is a short, sweet verse novel from Helen Frost, whose books are always a pleasure. The apples are ready, and it's applesauce weather, but Aunt Lucy passed on last year, and young Faith sits outside, waiting, waiting to see if Uncle Arthur will come anyway. He does, with his whimsical stories, especially the one that tells how he lost part of a finger. The "how" stories are always met with skepticism by Peter, Faith's older brother, who listens, but tries hard to show he isn't interested. Who he is interested in is Rose, a pretty neighbor. The story is a lovely fall afternoon, including memories of an old-time peddler who steps into Uncle Arthur's story, wending its way to a satisfying end. It's enhanced by the black and white sketched illustrations by Amy June Bates. It will make a wonderful mentor text for story-telling and for read aloud for younger students. (Coming in August.) Thanks to Candlewick for the arc!

Evening comes and sleep, too, while listening to the 'cricket song' in a house on a bay with frogs who 'dreck' and owls who 'boo' as they watch the night. There is a fox listening for a rabbit plus sea otters and whales in the bay. Words seem soft, and while the double-page spread shows larger specific scenes, the bottom of each page shows the broader scene of the bay. You'll need to look closely to watch for changes. The illustrations are awesome, showing the outside world along with the young child sleeping. Beautiful bedtime book!

I found this at my library, by a much acclaimed German artist, and his illustrations are in colored pencil, delightful and expressive! The story tells of two friends who live together, Gordon and Tapir. Unfortunately although they like each other, they are very different when it comes to their living habits. Gordon is neat, prefers everything in its place, while Tapir is quite messy, seems never to pick anything up or clean anything. Dishes are piled high! They do come to a decision, at least Gordon does. He moves out! Now they have no worries about each other's style, they can continue their loving friendship. What a discussion this would bring, and I do wonder that there is no compromise, it's simply a split. I hope some of you read this and let us know what you think!

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Celebrating with Ruth Ayres at Discover Play Build. and connecting with others who share their celebrations, too. It's a joy to read everyone's words of celebration. I planned to write last Sunday (my first day at home) about our family trip to Captiva, but I rose on Sunday to the anguish of Orlando. I didn't write this week except posting book reviews until Friday brought a gift from a friend, and I realized that more than ever we must hold dear the ordinary things that make our lives extraordinary. Here are pictures from our wonderful time together. The days filled with sand and sea, storms and play, loving family.

at a favorite restaurant-Carter took the pic

Ingrid and Carter - card game!

My nephew and his husband came to visit. It's always a joy to be togetherwith those who live far from us.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Carol Wilcox hosts us today with a gathering of poems that offer hope here at the end of this week of sadness. Gather at Carol's Cornerto read these poems and those of others who share. Thanks, Carol! Like everyone, I've found this to be a week of challenge. It is difficult to watch the news, yet I feel as if I'm betraying the memory of those lost if I don't pay attention. I want to make change, yet am unsure what to do that will help. I have written elected officials, I have signed petitions, I am trying. Many have posted beautiful messages on Facebook. I am part of a community who rails at these tragic events. I am hopeful. I found a quote from J R R Tolkien that meant goodness to me, and because of a mail surprise yesterday, it means more.“I wish it need
not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see
such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what
to do with the time that is given us.”

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Thanks to Alyson Beecher's Non-Fiction Picture Book Challenge at Kidlit Frenzy, everyone shares wonderful non-fiction picture books. We learn much from authors who are sharing about special topics. All through my teaching years, DK books have been a component of research for my students. Each student chose a specific topic to explore, and these books gave the basic information needed to start the journey. The information was thorough, and through the narratives and the graphics, the books helped students ask more questions, and dig even deeper into their topics. I have the pleasure of sharing some books just coming out in June and July from the DK Reading series, updated for differing levels of readers. The information given says: "Each book is written and reviewed by literacy experts, and contains a glossary and index, making them the perfect choice for helping develop strong reading habits among kids ages 4–12." Topics range widely, from jungle animals to rockets, from spiders to heroes. This time they've chosen "modern subjects and enticing covers that compete for the time and attention of digital-era kids." I would add that even the books for the beginning readers also have a table of contents, and those for older readers have short quizzes at the end of the book. Each book includes parent information also.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Back from the beach! I had a great time, and have read some, not as many as I thought I would. There's too much fun going on being with family. Every Monday, it's a pleasure to link up with a group that reviews books they want to share with others. If you visit, you'll be sure to find a book or more that you know you'll want to read!

How can I describe this book and still allow you readers to enjoy every page as a wonderful surprise, often leaving one holding one's breath, often reading with tears of both joy and sadness? It touched me, and feels so right and good for so many considering the tragic event in Orlando.

"Times are simpler when no one hates you because of your name and it doesn't occur to you to be ashamed of it." And they are not simple for these three teens, living their senior year in high school together. Growing into who they want to be instead of who they've been in their lives is what it's all about. You will love Dill, Lydia and Travis, and celebrate the story told by Jeff Zentner. The beautiful writing supports new ideas, and will help students who need them. I hope so. "Nothing makes you feel more naked than someone identifying a desire you never knew you possessed."

A boy and a girl go hunting,
for all things wild. In spare poetic text, Megan Lloyd takes them on a journey
to find wild things that can be seen, smelled, felt in many kinds of places.
Sometimes one needs to look for the tiniest things, and sometimes “wild” is
right there, bigger than you.Sometimes,
according to the text “Wild creeps and crawls and slithers.” and those children
appear to only give a glance, and walk quietly by. The illustrations illuminate
the text with added beauty for readers.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Thanks to Alyson Beecher's Non-Fiction Picture Book Challenge at Kidlit Frenzy, everyone shares wonderful non-fiction picture books. We learn much from authors who are sharing about their own special topics. One more 'water' book from the beach!

I continue to appreciate that authors are telling the stories of those whose accomplishments need to be celebrated, and love knowing about them. Lonnie Johnson grew up in a busy household, but was always the one who was figuring out stuff. There wasn't much money so Johnson's father taught his kids how to create their own toys, sometimes much to everyone's worry. Lonnie almost set his house on fire while cooking a batch of rocket fuel in the kitchen. It exploded! He became an engineer and worked for NASA, but his most known invention was a fluke, like others we've learned about. It is the "super-soaker", a most popular summertime toy.